Barbie
Published September 15, 2023
Film info
- Title Barbie
- Director Greta Gerwig
- Year 2023
- Run time 1hr 54m
- Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
- Tagline She's everything. He's just Ken.
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:01 | Can’t believe we literally only just did the homework for this bit! |
| 3:22 | “Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything.” |
| 7:54 | “Yay, space!” I’m like that all the time too. |
| 10:52 | Ken’s job is just beach! How have I never noticed that? |
| 18:43 | “I’ve never seen this kind of malfunction before, it’s usually just hair related.” |
| 22:41 | The choice is yours except if you make the wrong choice. |
| 27:58 | They are so bright! |
| 32:39 | It’s got a slight sniff of Toy Story with the growing up and all. |
| 36:38 | “May I put it in a whisper, Sir?” |
| 41:17 | Wow, Mattel signed off on them calling Barbie a facist! |
| 46:19 | “Ken isn’t something we’re worried about. Ever.” |
| 54:36 | A lot of people do hate women, it’s true. |
| 58:09 | Ken has done a Biff and changed history. |
| 1:06:19 | “But that’s terrifying.” Oh Babs, isn’t it? |
| 1:09:32 | “Not one person would care if Allan was in the real world. In fact, it’s happened before. All of N’Sync, Allan. Yes, even him.” |
| 1:16:26 | That speech is everything. |
| 1:22:52 | “Ok, come in, I’ll play the guitar at you.” |
| 1:31:40 | I love that Allan is a Barbie. |
| 1:35:45 | “Beach?” |
Thoughts
This movie is a five star film for America Ferrara’s speech alone. But of course the rest of it is brilliant. Shiny, poppy, camp and funny, meta in places and shockingly brutal against Barbie’s history, whilst at the same time having incredible insight and messages. Barbie’s confusion when confronted with a boardroom full of suited men making decisions for and about women was perfection.
There are odd moments that don’t quite work for me - the car chase felt a bit out of place, some of the reconciliation between Barbie and Ken jarred, sometimes the tone went wonky. I can see why this is a love or hate movie, but even with the small complaints I have it’s a full on love for me. This is a movie that really made me feel seen in a lot of ways and that’s rare.
Rating: 5 / 5